When Edward told Alphonse about changing his mind, Alphonse had no problem with it at all. They were also sure that Pinako wouldn’t mind. She spent of her time visiting with Winry in Rush Valley anyway which was where she was right now.
They had decided to let Natalie use Winry’s old room. After making sure that she was settled, they said good night and headed to their own room. Edward had told her that anything in the room was free for her to use so she found some clothes she could sleep in. She wouldn’t be able to sleep a wink though. She needed to clear her head so she quietly made her way down the stairs and outside. Those twinges of guilt were starting to get the better of her and she needed to work through them.
Sitting on the stone wall out in front of the house, Natalie started to talk to herself a bit.
“Who am I kidding? I can’t stay here. As much as I want to, I don’t belong here in this world. I can’t keep lying to them but I can’t really tell them the truth either. I can’t just leave though, that would be wrong too. Ed and Al have been so kind to me, just as I expected they would be. They’re everything, no more, than I expected actually…” She sighed heavily bringing her knees up to her chest and then resting her chin on them. “Why did I have to actually fall for him too? I should have just gone on believing he was just some character in a story.”
Natalie started to cry. Her heart ached something awful. Not even thinking, she wiped at her eyes with her bandaged right hand getting the bandage rather wet. Slowly, she unwrapped it. It actually didn’t hurt anymore, she was thankful for that. The wound looked really good considering how much it had bled. It looked like it had been healing for a few days instead of just a few hours. That was actually a handy little ability to have, Yuko hadn’t been kidding after all.
“I wonder why Edward changed his mind though, letting me stay here and agreeing to teach me. He gave his ability to do alchemy to get Alphonse back so how does he think he’s going to be able to teach me?” Natalie continued to mutter on.
What Natalie hadn’t realized was that Edward had heard her get up and had followed her keeping his distance just enough that he could hear her but she couldn’t see him. He’d actually been standing in the shadows of the doorway the entire time. He stood there trying to wrap his mind around what he had heard her say. Didn’t belong in this world, what did that mean? Did that have something to do with the bright light he’d seen from the roof this afternoon just before she arrived? And a character in a story, what did that mean? He had so many questions. What he wanted to know most though was how she knew about him giving up his alchemy to get Alphonse back. No one but a select few knew about that. He decided it was a good time to make his presence known to her.
She was lost deeply in thought, tears still streaming down her cheeks when he came up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. “Natalie…”
She jumped at the touch, pulling away from him and hopping down off of the wall. Her eyes still puffy and her cheeks still stained with tears, she turned to look at him. “How… How long have you been there?” she asked. She looked so lost and vulnerable standing there looking at him. “How much…”
Edward sighed, looking at the ground. “I heard everything…” his voice was quiet but sturn.
Natalie felt like her knees were going to give out. She couldn’t take this and she actually did fall to her knees. “Then you know?”
Edward took a step closer to her so now he was standing right before her. She looked up at him when he did. “I’m not sure what I know Natalie but I think you should probably start explaining.” His eyes were intense, their golden color picking up the moonlight and making them appear more piercing.
She sighed heavily and hung her head. She couldn’t help it, she started crying again. “I’ll explain but I’m not sure you’d believe me.”
Edward crossed his arms still looking at her intensely. “Try me.”
Natalie took a deep breath and managed to get to her feet. She went and sat back on the stone wall. “You might want to sit down too…” she said softly. Doing as she suggested he sat down beside her. “To put it simply, I’m from another world entirely. I wasn’t lying when I said I came here to see you though, it just wasn’t to learn alchemy. In my world… well in my world I’d read stories about your journeys with Alphonse to get your bodies back and how you faced the Homunculi, even about your final battle with Father and trading your alchemy to bring Alphonse back from the gate. They were all in comic books we call manga and in shows we could watch called anime. Well from those stories I’d fallen… um… I’d taken in interest in you and when I found out that I had the ability to travel worlds I selfishly wanted to come here and meet you in person. I never meant…”
At this point Edward stopped her. “OK, OK… but what I don’t get is how could this be a story in someone else’s world?”
Natalie shook her head. “That I don’t know, I just know that’s how it is. I’m still kind of new at this.”
“Then how do you explain that?” he asked pointing to her hand.
“It’s another part of my ability; I heal a lot faster than most people.”
Edward looked at her, his eyes wide with what appeared to be horror. Natalie noticed it and remembered the healing abilities of the Homunculi.
“It’s not what you think Edward, I’m not a homunculus, I swear. I’m just as human as you are; I just don’t go down that easy.”
Edward sat there silently, trying to take all of this in. “You expect me to believe all of this?” he finally asked, his voice hushed and almost angry.
Natalie sighed, there was only one way she knew of to be able to prove any of this to him but she wasn’t allowed to take people to other worlds. Then it hit her, the world with the gate. All at once she knew how she could prove her story to him and help him all in one shot. She just hoped it worked.
She looked at him with renewed resolve. “I can prove it, you just have to do two things.”
“Which are?”
“First trust me and second you have to promise me you’ll never tell anyone about my secret, not even Alphonse.”
Edward thought about it for a moment. “Alright, but if you’re lying…”
“I know, I know. You’re going to beat the snot out of me right?” she said unable to keep herself from chuckling.
“No, I don’t hit girls,” he said sounding a bit offended that she’d even suggest it. “But if you’re lying, I want you to leave.”
Natalie nodded. “Agreed, now here goes.”
Natalie hopped down off the wall and pulled her pen from her pocket. She held it in the air, “Charon Star Power Make Up!” In a bright flash of light she transformed. It was so bright that Edward had to shield his eyes but when he took his arm away she was standing there in her sailor scout outfit, her lantern staff in hand. He couldn’t help but to stare a little. Natalie noticed and chuckled which made him blush a little. “Ready to go?” she asked.
Edward stood up and nodded.
“Alright then. Fair warning though, it can be a bit of a strange feeling especially the first time but you’re not in any danger,” she said as she used her staff to open the portal. She then held her hand out to him. “Make sure you hold on tight though, I don’t want you to get lost in between the worlds.”
He took her outstretched hand, holding tightly as she had told him to. She then led him through the portal.
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